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Justice for Easter victims protest held

21 Jul 2021

  • Vital issues suppressed; cases to be filed sans proper probes: CSR
BY Buddhika Samaraweera A silent protest demanding justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019 was held yesterday (21). The protest was organised by the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) and certain other civil society organisations, along with Catholic clergy and family members of those who were killed and injured in the terror attacks in Katuwapitiya, one of the sites of the bombings. It was demanded that the Government expedite the investigations into the bombings and bring justice to the victims. Speaking to the media during the protest, CSR Executive Director Rev. Fr. Rohan Fernando claimed that the investigations into a number of important issues related to the terror attacks had been suppressed. He also claimed that there had been no proper investigation into the attacks and emphasised that matters pertaining to it that had been discussed in the Parliament in the recent past should also be thoroughly investigated. “Preparations are now underway to file cases regarding the Easter Sunday terror attacks; however, they are not going to be filed after proper investigations. Therefore, we earnestly request all the authorities concerned that all relevant matters be investigated,” he added. Meanwhile, the Organisation of the Families of the Disappeared also joined the protest. Speaking to the media, its President Brito Fernando said that 27 months had passed since the Easter Sunday terror attacks, but no satisfactory investigation has been carried out. He stressed that the relevant agencies should work to uncover the mastermind behind the terror attacks and those who enjoyed the political advantages gained out of the tragedy. “Disappearances and murders have become very common in this country, but we are committed not only to bring justice to the victims of these terror attacks, but also to create the necessary environment to prevent such unfortunate incidents from ever happening again. We will not give up our efforts to uncover the real forces behind these attacks,” he added. Attempts to contact Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekera and Minister of Justice Ali Sabry to inquire about the matter were unsuccessful. On Easter Sunday, 21 April 2019, three churches (St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, and Zion Church in Batticaloa) and three luxury hotels in Colombo (Cinnamon Grand, The Kingsbury Colombo, and Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo) were targeted in a series of co-ordinated Islamist terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, another two bomb explosions took place at a house in Dematagoda and Tropical Inn Lodge in Dehiwala. A total of 267 people were killed in the bombings, including at least 45 foreign nationals, while at least 500 were injured. All eight of the suicide bombers in the attacks were Sri Lankan citizens associated with the National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ) founded by the suicide bomber at Shangri-La Hotel, Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zaharan, alias Zaharan Hashim.


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